A semi-automatic handgun is designed to fire a round of ammunition when the handgun's trigger is pulled. Each semi-automatic handgun operates in a firing cycle during which the round of ammunition is moved from a storage location, such as a magazine, to a chamber in the handgun. This is the “feed” portion of the firing cycle. The round of ammunition is then fired and the spent ammunition casing, or shell, is extracted from the chamber and ejected from the handgun so that a new round may be loaded for firing.
Typically, each semi-automatic handgun includes a slide that governs the movement of the ammunition round, or cartridge, during the firing cycle. The slide moves between a rearward position and a forward position on the handgun. As the slide moves from the rearward position to the forward position, the slide advances a cartridge from the magazine and moves the cartridge into the chamber and into position for firing.
Each round of ammunition typically includes a casing, a propellant, a primer, and a projectile. The casing houses the propellant, the primer, and the projectile. The round is fired when a mechanical force, such as from a firing pin or a striker, is delivered to the primer in the casing. The force ignites the primer, which in turn ignites the propellant. The gas from the rapidly burning propellant propels the projectile down the barrel.
After the round is discharged, the force of the discharge causes the slide to move towards the rearward position. As the slide retracts, an extractor pulls the casing away from the chamber and an ejector causes the casing to disengage from the extractor and exit the handgun through an ejection port in the slide. The slide continues moving rearward compressing a recoil spring until it reaches its rearmost position. Under the influence of the recoil spring, the slide then returns to its forward position over the magazine and loads another cartridge into the chamber in the process.
A jam or misfeed situation may occur when the handgun experiences a problem in the “feed” portion of the firing cycle. This type of situation may arise when, for example, the round of ammunition is not properly fed into the chamber. Improper feeding of a cartridge can result when the cartridge about to be loaded into the chamber lies at an improper rest angle within the magazine body. When the breech bolt face of a handgun's slide contacts such a misaligned round, the handgun may fail to feed the cartridge and place it in the chamber. In this circumstance, the firing cycle is interrupted and the user must manually resolve the problem by helping to guide the round of ammunition into the chamber.
Conventional magazines for semi-automatic handguns are used to store multiple rounds of ammunition, or cartridges, for consecutive loading and firing. Most magazines comprise a hollow magazine body having an open end and a closed end. In addition, magazines usually house a compression spring that extends between the closed end and a follower element that supports a vertical stack of cartridges. Cartridges are loaded into the magazine one at a time, with the first loaded cartridge disposed on the follower and subsequent cartridges being disposed against the body of the preceding cartridge, against the force of the compression spring. The loaded magazine is shaped to fit within an opening in the handle of the handgun.
Magazine lips are located along the open end of a magazine body. The lips include shaped upper edge portions that extend inwardly toward each other to such a distance as to slidably fit a single cartridge. The lips assure that the loaded cartridges do not exit the magazine body as a result of the compression spring force. The force of the compression spring against the follower, in turn, biases the vertical stack of cartridges upward within the magazine body. When the magazine is inserted into the opening in the handle of a handgun, the spring force ideally maintains the highest cartridge in the proper position for movement between a storage location in the magazine and a firing location within the chamber at a rear end of the handgun's barrel.
Many followers for handgun magazines consist of a piece of sheet metal properly profiled to slide easily inside the magazine body under the force generated by the compression spring and to simultaneously create a sufficient contact area with the cartridge in order to push up each round against the magazine lips. Many other followers for handgun magazines are made from injected plastic having profiles that basically ensure the same functions of the followers made from sheet metal. Both types of followers align and maintain firm contact between the uppermost cartridge and the magazine lips during the feeding process.
Most followers include a surface for contacting and maintaining cartridges at a predetermined position relative to the magazine lips. Whenever there is more then one cartridge loaded in the magazine the spring force will create a simultaneous alignment between cartridge and follower on one side of the lowermost cartridge, and between the uppermost cartridge and magazine lips. This is due to the relative movement of the follower within the magazine body. When the position of a follower tilts relative to the magazine body, as most often happens when only a single cartridge remains in the magazine, the surface of the cartridge contacting the follower may rest at an angle significantly above or below that required for proper feeding.
In light of the foregoing there is a need for an improved magazine and follower assembly for a semi-automatic handgun that will reduce the likelihood of a jam or misfeed situation during the firing cycle of the handgun. This is achieved by a magazine follower that compensates for cartridges improperly resting at angles both above and below those required for proper cartridge feeding in order to maintain a consistent alignment of each uppermost round with the magazine lips.